Jones: "...neither am I a bloodless angel" скачать в хорошем качестве

Jones: "...neither am I a bloodless angel"

Jeffrey Zeigler, cello David Riley, piano Live performance at Sonoklect (Washington & Lee University, VA). "… neither am I a bloodless angel,” jj.37, for cello & piano PROGRAM NOTE written by Kellen Degnan (cellist): "The title of this piece references a quote from the novel "My Name is Asher Lev" by Chaim Potok. The novel tells the story of a Hasidic Jewish boy whose artistic inclinations cause friction between him, his family, and his community, and it is from this conflict that the meaning of the piece arises. Throughout, it is concerned with the juxtaposition and integration of dichotomous concepts. "The interplay that is perhaps most readily apparent—indeed, it can easily be inferred from the title—is that between the demonic and the divine. The very opening of the piece embodies this particular struggle, with the divine represented by the cello’s soaring melodies and the demonic apparent in the complex rhythmic figurations of the piano. From there, the entire spectrum between demonic and divine is explored. Truly demonic is a middle section marked scherzoso, characterized by the staccato interplay between cello and piano, and rife with technical challenges for both instruments. True divinity does not appear until close to the end of the piece, with a somber processional almost certainly inspired by religious chant music. "A less obvious but more fundamental conflict at play throughout this piece is that between the academic and the soulful, which Jones himself describes as one of the fundamental struggles of "the artist," one which mirrors the dilemma of Asher Lev as his artistic desires come into conflict with his strict religious upbringing. This piece is, according to Jones, his “first attempt at joining those two parts” of his artistic identity. And this is the true key to understanding this music. So, at its core, this piece is not about the conflict between two disparate ideas; rather, it is about exploring the grey areas where two opposites can coexist."